Concussion relief hood for flash tubes



1950 s. s. MINNICH 2,520,608

CONCUSSION RELIEF 1-1000 FOR FLASH TUBES Filed April 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 17 34 W w "T 2/ WNWMQE g I 1 26 4 2 3/ siehmdn 5'. Minnith NTOR.

29, 1950 s. s. MlNNICH 2,520,608

CONCUSSION RELIEF HOOD FOR FLASH TUBES Filed April 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 S lehmdn S. Minnie/ INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 29, 1950 barren OONOUSSION llyinventionrelatestoflashlighters ior'sas-Y eous fuel burners and heater its-principal object the provision of methods and For the p rpose or enabling s s s iu l uip; Y.

ment such as kitchen ranges and mammaers for example to be ignited automatically when the gas is turned on to thefmainfhurner, pilot" lights have been employed: ,l n-vloldel' f ignitethe main burner i'roi'n. the pilot flame, tubes known as flash tubeshave been'provided which causegas to be transierredirom the/main burner to the pilot flame and to cause a flame-to flashed backfromthe pilot burner through flash tube to the main burner-4hr viimiunr' 1a.;

Proper flashing action and reliability ot actio'n in j flash tubes heretoiore employed dependupon the.

proper adjustment oi flashitubegand-proportioningotthepartsthereoi'. If

In an apparatus where'asingle o'onstant burn ins pilot is'to {for or burners u d some in r nses, for nmnlawheret t n as well as the oven and' broilen gto m.-t ltl ecem. I sary to employ a flash tubo usuall having a verticahsectio will be satisfactory, at all may be encountered.

It is accordingly anobject of my invention to 1 The 1 a presence of such sity for great nicety I makes it difllcult to obtain an which temperatures which;

a apparatus of Fig. 4 represented as cut by a plane considered in conjunction with the accompanyprovide means for enabling either vertical or relatively long flash'tubesto be employed success- !ully and without the employment of great skill in adjustment of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide reliability and uniiormity; of action. and to make the operation of the flash tube independent of ambient temperature aawell as independent of variations in temperature of the h A iurtherobiectirto avoid the necessity for adjustments for diflerent temperaturea;

A mrtherobiect ia toavoid; excessive tube temperatures. It is alsoianobject to provide a cone structionwhich willienable the flame to'travel isst enough through the flash-tube for. proper operationoitheapparatus. is

Still another-object oithe invention is to provide arrangementsv tor relieving -concussion in the flash" tubes and:ior;a' 'voidingdi'mculties from concussion such asgextinction iointhe flame.

Other and features and ad- STATES PATENT OFFICE seams noon Foa man Stehman 8. Minnich. Cleveland, ohimasaignorto Thelatrol Valve Comm, Cleveland, om.

aeorporatian aroma v a April 5, masqu a. same: i (cuss-11s) as. the description proceeds.

In carrying out. my invention in apreierred form thereoi' when long flash tubesmustbe utilized, I provide onevor more concussion relief. units or hoods especially in a verticalsection of the flash tube whereby the uninterrupted length of a flash tube section isidiminlshed, and it he- ,comes unnecessary to provide longitudinal slots "or other expedients in connection with the flash tube. '1 relieve concussion in the flash tube by providing ahoodhaving a transverse opening to supply additional air-to the flash tube and a shelf or. the'like ior deflecting concussion.

A better oi the invention will be aflorded by the following detailed description.

ing drawings, and the scope of the invention will be "s'et forth intheclaims. A 520 -;In;the'drawings, Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of lighting system such as may be em- "utomatically lighting both the top burners and ;o ven.burner from a single constant pilot.

Fig. 4 isa view in elevation of a concusflsion relief unit, employing frusto-conical elements; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the Like reference characters are utilised through out the drawing to desianate like parts.

A flash lighting system illustriting an embodiment of my inventionis shown in- Pig. 1. The system illustrated may be employed in a domestic gas cook-stove or range. It comprises a constant pilot burner ii, an oven burner it to be ignited iromthe pilot II, and a tube II for effecting the ignition. If desired. an intermittently operated pilot-or oven pilot It may be interposed between the oven end of the flash tube It and the ovenburner it. The pilot burner ii is shown as enclosed in a suitable housing ll communicating with the oven flash tube It and one or more top-burner flash tubes It. The top burner flash tubes such as the tube it extend ramany from the pilot burner housing It to range top burner in a conventional manner. The oven flash tube It is employed in order that the conventional constant burning pilot burner ll, customarily employed for igniting range to burners, may also be employed tor automatically plofy'ed Finis household range. for exampIe Ior 3 lkhting the oven burner II when III is admitted thereto.

Very frequently the oven and broiler burners of automatic gas ranges are mounted below the so-called top burners, and in any event the oven and broiler burners are ordinarily mounted at a lower level than the top burners. Consequently, the oven flash tube It must either have a very steep slope or be provided with a vertical part i1, and furthermore it must be of considerable length compared with the usual top flash tube it for conveying a flame from the constant burning pilot I l to the oven burner l2. As shown, the oven flash tube It has a horizontal branch at the upper end with an opening ll mounted'in the pilot housing It in proximity to the constant burning flame is of the pilot ll. Unless an intermittent pilot such as an oven pilot is is employed. the oven burner I2 is arranged to inject raw gas directly into lower open end 2i of the. oven flash tube when gas is admitted to the oven burner i2. It is to be understood that the oven burner I2 has a plurality of vertically extending ports for producing the usual lets of flame. For ignition purposes. there is a side port 22. It may be arranged toinject gas directly into 4 ll secured to or forming a continuation of the upper end of the lower flash tube section 30. Preferably a concussion deflecting shelf 3! is also provided, which is spaced from the open end of the tubular member ll. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the bell-shaped or flaring member 31 has a large opening ll downwardly disposed and directed toward the tubular member 38 and a smaller opening 42, which is connected to the flash tube section 35 leading from the constant burningpilot ii. The tubular member 3| may be cylindrical as shown in Fig. l or frusto-conical. tapering inwardly toward the open end as illustrated in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2 the tapering member a is Joined to the flash tube sectending radially from a Junction of the flash tube section 3' with the tubular member 36. As shown in the drawing, the concussion deflecting shelf ll has adiameter as great as the hell or flaring the flash tube II. However, when an intermittentpilot such as the pilot it is employed the port 22 serves for ignition from the intermittent pilot ll. As illustrated. the intermittent pilot burner It has a suitable head 23 with a pair of 26 may be secured to or extended from the lower portion of the flash tube end 2i. Preferably the lower lateral branch 21 of the oven flash tube II is on a gradual upward slope from the end 2! to the vertical part II.

Gas for the oven pilot I and the oven burner i2 is supplied from a suitable supply pipe or header is having a gas-control valve 2| such as a handcock or a thermostatic valve for control-' ling the admission of gas to the oven burner l2 i member 31 and it is spaced from the open end of the tubular member 38 by a-distance of the same order of magnitudeas the diameter of said opening, being about three-fourths of this diameter. as in the specific arrangement illustrated.

In order to form the flash tube i3 into a unitary construction with the pilot-burner and ignited -burner sections mechanically connected, straps ll may be provided. joining the bellmember 81 to the collar or concussion deflecting shelf 30. If desired the straps It may be integral with the bell member 31 and secured by suitable means such as soldering or brazing to the outer edges of the shelf or collar as. My invention may be carried out satisfactorily'b'y employing a bell member 31 having a round contour as shown in Figures 2 and 3. However, my invention is not limited to the precise shapes and relationships of parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

For example, frusto-conical configuration of a the outwardly extending portions of the concussion relief unitmay be employed, and in this case there is a bell 31' having a frusto-conical shape and there is a concussion deflecting shelf 39',

outwardly toward and the oven pilot ll. Preferably a pilot-responsive safety valve II is interposed in the gas line 32 leading directly to the oven burner l2. A small pipe It branching from the supply line is shown for supplying the oven pilot ll.

which is also frusto-conicalin shape and flares the'open end of the flash tube section It.

The tubular member It for discharging gas into the bell 31. in this case forms a continuation of the flash tube section it of slightly re- For the sake of increasing thereliabiiity of the automatic ignition of the oven burner and enabling the oven-burner 12 to beignited when-* 8- duced diameter. The concussion deflecting member 39' is secured to the tube section in any suitable manner as As already indicated, the flame I! of the pilot II is assumed to burn constantly. Whrn a flame is to be ignited in the oven burner l2, the valve 29 is opened admitting gas to the inlet tubing ll of the burner H'. Thereupon gas issues from x the port 2! and is injected into the lower open end 2| of the flash tube section 26. Air is also entrapped, and the mixture of air and gas rises in the upwardly sloping branch 21 and in the vertical part II of the flash tube it. Upon in the vertical part II thereof. If the flash tuber II is of unusual length. a plurality of such relief reaching the relief hood 34, additional air is entrained; whereupon the mixturecontinues to rise and discharges from the open pilot end It.

Theconcus-- The mixture is thereupon ignited producing a flash-back or compression wave extending down wardly through the vertical part of the flash tube I2. Owing to the sudden expansion of'the gas mixture upon ignition, a concussion is proper flash tube section it and a tubular member re duced which tends to extinguish the flametravel by means of soldering or lng toward the burner l4 the' tube II is made solid from one end to the other.

by the flame which has progressed from the pilot II to the bell mouth 31 so that after ignition, the flame continues to travel toward the end 2| until it has reached the flash port 25'. The gas issuing from the injection port or flash port 2| ignites to produce the flame 25. The oven pilot flame 24 is ignited from the flash port flame 25. The gas issuing from the oven burner side port ignites, producing a flame 45 from which the ports of the oven burner I2 are ignited, thus completing the ignition of the oven burner I2.

The concussion relief unit 34 supplies additional air, giving rise to what may be described as relaying action so as to permit flashing of flame through considerable lengths of flash tubing. I have found it unnecessary to make any changes of the adjustments or proportions of the parts of the flash tubing in order to obtain flame travel when changes take place in the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere or of the tubing itself. Furthermore, presence of the concussion relief hood enables a suitable adjustment to be found at any temperature, and makes unnecessary the use of longitudinal slots in the tubing. A high degree of reliability and uniformity of action is accomplished and the tubing remains relatively cool.

In spite of the momentary delay of the flame passage at the relief hood 34, I have found that the flame travels at a considerably greater speed in the flash tube l3 when constructed as shown, than when there is no relief unit. I believe that the increased speed of flame also contributes materially to the reliability of the operation.

I have herein shown and particularly described certain embodiments of my invention and certain methods of operation embraced therein for the purpose of explaining its principle of operation and showing its application but it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations are possible and I aim. therefore, to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of my invention which is:, deflned in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination a pilot burner, a second burner mounted at a lower level than the pilot burner, a flash tube joining said burners for igniting the second burner from the pilot burner, said flash tube having a vertical part divided into aligned sections with confronting ends open towards each other, one section having a downwardly extending laterally enlarged mouth, and the other section having its open end extending upwardly to discharge into said mouth and having an external annular concussion-deflecting shelf spaced from its said open end by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of its said open end, said shelf having a diameter as great as said mouth, and means uniting said aligned sections of the flash tube.

2. In combination ,a pilot burner, a second burner to be ignited from the pilot burner and a flash tube joining said secondburner to the pilot burner, said flash tube being divided into aligned sections with confronting ends open towards each other, one section having a bell mouth extending toward the open endof the other section, and the said other section having anopen end extending toward said first namedv section to discharge, into said bell mouth and having a concussion deflecting shelf surrounding and spaced from its said open end by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of its said open end, said shelf having a diameter as great as said bell mouth, and means uniting said aligned sections of the flash tube.

3. A concussion relief unit for a gas-igniting flash tube comprising in combination a bell with a, large open end downwardly disposed and an upper opening for connection with a flash tube section's, tubular member below said bellfor discharging gas into said bell, an annular concussion deflecting shelf around said tubular member secured thereto and spaced from' the upper end thereof by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of the end of said tubular member, and straps joining said shelf to said bell, said shelf having a diameter as great as the large open end of said bell.

4. A concussion relief unit for a'gas-igniting flash tube comprising lncombination a bell with a large open end downwardly disposed and an upper opening for connecting with a flash tube section, a tubular member below said bell for discharging gas into said bell, wherein the tubular member is frusto-conical and decreases in diameter toward the open end thereof, and an annular concussion deflecting-shelf around said tubular member secured thereto and spaced from said open end thereof by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of the open end, said shelf having a diameter as great as the large open end of said bell.

5. In combination a pilot burner, a second burner and a flash tube for igniting said second burner from the pilot burner, said flash tube being divided into two connected sections with aligned confronting spaced ends open toward each other, one section communicating with the pilot burner and having a bell mouth at the end toward the second section, said second section having its aligned end serving as an outlet and having a substantially horizontal inlet arranged for receiving gas from the second burner and directing it through the aligned outlet into said bell mouth, and said second section having an external annular concussion deflecting' shelf spaced from the open end thereof by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of its open end, said shelf having a diameter as great as said bell mouth.

6. In combination a pilot burner, a second burner mounted at a lower level than the pilot burner, and a flash tube joining said burners for igniting the second burner from the pilot burner, said flash tube having a vertical part and a substantially horizontal part, the vertical part being divided into aligned sections with confronting spa'ced ends open towards each other, one section having a downwardly extending bell mouth, and the other section having its open end extending upwardly to discharge into said bell mouth, said other section being joined to the substantially horizontal part of the flash tube 1 and said horizontal part having an inlet adaptmagnitude as the diameter of its open end. said shelf having a diameter as great as said bell mouth.

7. A concussion relief unit comprising in combination a pair oi hollow irusto-conical members arranged in axial alignment with largerdiameter ends towards each other and spaced from each other, straps Joining said irusto-conical members, one of said members having an opening for connection to a pilot-light flash tube section and the second frusto-conical member having a tubular member secured therein extending toward the first irusto-conical member for discharging gas into the first irusto-conical member, and being adapted to be connected to a gas receiving flash tube section.

8. A concussion relief unit comprising in combination a pair of hollow irusto-conicalmembers arranged in axial alignment with larger diameter ends towards each other, and spaced from each other, one of said members having an axial opening for connection to a pilot light flash tube section and a second irusto-conical member having means therein for discharging gas from a gas-receiving flash tube section into said flrst I i'rusto-conical member, and strap means ior uniting said conical members.

STEHMAN S. MINNICH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

Numberv Name Date 1.976.870 Weber Oct. 16, 1934 2,087,433 iiollman July 20, 1937 2,091,530 Slavln et al Aug. 31, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 136,626 Great Britain Dec. 17, 1919 

